While the annual literary festival extravaganza in July is fast approaching, the Saskatchewan Festival of Words is keeping its calendar busy in the meantime with another month of virtual events to enjoy.
Coming up in March, the Festival is continuing on with three of its most popular monthly programs, all of which have temporarily gone virtual in the midst of the ongoing pandemic restrictions.
On March 17 at 7 p.m., the Cineview Discussion Group is returning with a new monthly movie assignment and conversation. This month, participants are invited to watch the Golden Globe-winning movie Soul, a family-friendly animated film available to stream through Disney+.
Pixar’s Soul tells the story of jazz musician Joe Gardner, who has a near-death experience that leaves him stuck in the afterlife and desperate to return to his body in time for his big break. In his adventure to help out a fellow baby soul and return to his life, he contemplates his choices and perhaps discovers what it means to have soul.
The discussion group will meet virtually using Google Meet for the evening discussion about Soul. Registration is required to attend the discussion event.
The monthly Virtual Book Club is also returning in March, this time to discuss a young adult novel from a local author that is set very close to home.
On March 25 at 2:30 p.m., the book club will meet to discuss Moose Jaw author Melanie McFarlane’s latest book, Finders Keepers.
The novel, aimed at middle-school-age youth, is a story about a 12-year-old girl who lives at Buffalo Pound Lake with her family. When a move to the city threatens to change the life she loves so much, she sets out with the goal of scouring the beach for a treasure big enough to convince her mother to stay — and she finds it in the form of a lost mermaid who needs to get home to the Pacific Ocean.
Finders Keepers released earlier this year and is available to purchase through all Canadian major publishers and on Amazon. It can also be found locally at Post Horizon Booksellers in Moose Jaw, as well as from the local library.
The book club discussion will be hosted through the Moose Jaw Public Library, with links to the video event available on their Facebook page and website.
Also on March 25, the Festival will be hosting another virtual evening of the Performer’s Cafe at 7 p.m.
The open mic event will be taking place via Google Meet, inviting anyone to join in and take the mic to display their talent and creativeness. Past Performer’s Cafe events have welcomed musician performances, poetry readings, stand-up comedy and more.
Performer’s Cafe is entirely free and is an all-ages event. Registration to take part or to tune in can be done through the Festival’s website.
For more information on upcoming events or this year’s Festival of Words, visit festivalofwords.com.
